Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has named engineer Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman as the BN candidate for Kuala Besut by-election.

Tengku Zaihan was an engineer at the Drainage and Irrigation Department headquarters in Putrajaya. He has a degree in civil engineering from Universiti Sains Malaysia and is married with four children.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the choice of Tengku Zaihan, who hails from Kampung Nail in Kuala Besut, was well received at all levels.

"For us (BN), this young candidate is well accepted by party members because he is very close to the people (in Kuala Besut)," he said when launching the BN election machinery and announcing the name of its candidate at Dataran Kuala Besut here.

Muhyiddin, who is also the BN's election director for the by-election, said it was extremely significant as the future of the BN in Terengganu lay in the hands of voters in Kuala Besut.

He said it was they who would determine whether the transformation agenda brought about by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would continue to be enjoyed by the people in Terengganu.

"A win in Kuala Besut will be the determining factor to ensure Terengganu continues to move in tandem with the federal government and this is why the BN's position in the state must be further strengthened. Victory in this by-election will be very significant," he said.

Pas will be announcing their candidate later tonight.

The by-election came after the death of BN assemblyman Dr A. Rahman Mokhtar due to lung cancer on June 26.